OrH Newsletter

Or Haneshamah Newsletter -- 12 March 2019

03/12/2019 10:30:35 PM

Haven’t worn it in years? Don’t KonMari it!! Haul out that culturally-appropriate, does-it-still-fit costume … take it in your hands, ask if it sparks joy … and say YES to DRESSING UP!

We’ll make gifts of goodies to give to friends of all ages, read from the megilah with our traditional unpredictable mixture of English, Hebrew and Silly*, collect contribution for matanot le-evyonim/gifts for those in need, parade our costumes, taste test hamentashen, and hand-out fabulous prizes for Best Costume and Best Hamentashen.

So bake a batch to compete or share, bring along some “finger-food” to nosh and share, and if you like, some fruit of the vine or other libations.

Keep Calm and Costume On!

The full schedule of festivities is at https://www.orh.ca/event/purim2019

* Chapters still available! Do you have a funny bone? A penchant for trenchant cultural commentary? Contact Rabbi Liz!

Klez 12Let’s celebrate Spring together with Klez 12 on Sunday, March 24th at 3:00 p.m. at the SJCC social hall. This is the twelfth year of this great event in support of the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, and OrH is one of the sponsors. The musical program features Ottawa’s 8-piece klezmer band, A Touch of Klez, with vocalists Rabbi Liz Bolton (an accomplished mezzo-soprano) and Cantor Jason Green of Kehillat Beth Israel. The Musica Ebraica Choir will perform Yiddish tunes, with dancing led by members of the International Folk Dancers of Ottawa. The lively concert will include dancible bulgars, shers and freylachs. Tickets can be purchased from band or choir members and will be available at the door.

March 2019 Update from the Shalom GroupA huge THANK YOU to everyone who purchased gift cards or donated boots and other winter items to the Alsahar family last fall. Due to your tremendous generosity, everyone is managing to stay warm through the winter months.

December 2018 marked the six-month anniversary of the Alsahars' arrival to Canada. Over 30 volunteers and family members celebrated this milestone at a potluck dinner held at the home of Sherill Besser and Morris Rosenberg. The dining room table groaned under the weight of food for, as we have come to learn, there can be no celebration in either Jewish or Muslim tradition without there being loads of food.

The family has settled nicely in their home and neighbourhood. With the help of many open-hearted and generous volunteers and congregants, Asmaa and Shadi have furnished and decorated their townhouse so that it is a welcoming place where they can host family and friends.

Everyone is making great strides in terms of their English language skills. We are now able to exchange simple ideas and news with one another without a translator (aside from some meetings at the bank), which makes life a lot easier!

The Alsahars have come to learn what a ‘Snow Day’ means, and they have also become very familiar with snow shovels and sidewalk salt. Thanks to Chris Gregory, the children are now equipped with skates and helmets. They visited the Rink of Dreams on the front lawn of City Hall recently and tried their hand at skating. Little Oday spent more time sliding on his tummy - but the girls both skated around with huge smiles on their faces and were equally happy with the hot chocolate that they got afterwards. Two more firsts for the Alsahars!

Family Day was spent at the Museum of Nature together with Ira Greenblatt and Barbara Levine. The most interesting gallery for the Alsahars was the one that showcased animals that are native to Canada. Asmaa got up close to the stuffed polar bear and also snapped numerous photos of grizzly bears, caribou, moose and deer to send to family back in the Middle East. No doubt they will find them exotic!

In the coming weeks, we will be helping Asmaa and Shadi file their first Canadian tax return. We will also be suggesting options for summer camps and other programs for the kids, and will be having conversations with them about their plans to continue their studies or work or both.

Asmaa and Shadi have been quite frugal with their funds and at the current rate, will likely have some savings put aside when the Shalom Group's financial support comes to an end at the end of June.

All in all, everything is going very smoothly and according to plan. We are all grateful, and feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to see the Alsahar family adjusting so well as they embrace life here in Canada. We will be sure to bring you another update in the spring.

If you would like to contact the Shalom Group, please contact Shari at shari.silber@gmail.com

Invitation to Support Israelis Opposing Kahanists in KnessetReconstructing Judaism is inviting friends and supporters to show solidarity with thousands of Israelis who are taking action to try to prevent Kahanists from being allowed to enter the Knesset. (See the recent February 21, 2019 statement “Kahanists are a danger to Israelis and Israeli society.”)

The Israeli grassroots social action organization, Zazim – Community Action, is mobilizing Israelis to call on the Central Elections Committee of the Knesset to protect the Knesset from Kahanists. More than 13,000 Israelis have already signed onto Zazim’s petition expressing their conviction that Kahanists have no place in the Knesset and represent a fundamental threat to Israel’s core democratic values. Zazim and the New Israel Fund have now launched a parallel petition for Jews living outside of Israel to sign as a show of solidarity and support for their efforts. To learn more about this initiative and to add your name to the petition, visit: https://tinyurl.com/y4bnn875

*Author Marc Auban will be signing copies of his new book Blight, on March 23 at Coles at the Carlingwood Mall, 11 am-2 pm. Blight is an historical novel that follows the stories of many of Ottawa's Lowertown residents (Jewish, French, Irish), including Lorry Greenberg, fighting the city over expropriations and demolitions in the 1960s, and the continuing battle in the 2000s.

*Multifaith Housing Initiative 2019 AGM takes place on Sun., Mar. 31 at the Ismaili Muslim Community of Ottawa, 3225 Conroy Rd. Registration begins at 2:30 p.m. OrH is a member of MHI, so OrH members are welcome at the AGM. The Annual Report is also now available at: http://www.multifaithhousing.ca/annual-reports--financial-statements.html

Limmud: Celebrating Jewish Learning, March 31, 9 - 5:30 pm, at SJCC 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt. A day celebrating of Jewish life and Jewish learning in all of its diversity by bringing together Jews of all backgrounds and all ages! Visit http://limmudottawa.ca for more information. Contact Jenny Roberge at 613-608-6872 or jenny.roberge@gmail.comPushing the Boundaries Conference: Disability, Inclusion in the Jewish Community, April 2, 7-9 pm at KBI, 1400 Coldrey Ave. April 3, 9 am - 3:30 pm at SJCC, 21 Nadolny Sachs Pvt. The conference will educate diverse constituencies about the barriers faced by people with disabilities, present best practices that foster inclusion, and help to inspire innovation in the Jewish community. Join the discussion about how to remove the many social, economic and physical barriers faced by Jews with disabilities wanting to engage in Jewish life. Presented in partnership by: Tamir, Jewish Family Services, Jewish Federation of Ottawa, and Jewish Ottawa Inclusion Network (JOIN). All are welcome. Deadline March 25. Register at: https://tinyurl.com/yy7rjwo3. More information at https://jewishottawa.com/our-community/pushing-the-boundaries-conference or contact Sarah Beutel at 613-798-9818 x243 or sbeutel@jewishottawa.com

Community Opportunities

Friends of English Theatre of the National Arts Centre are organizing a trip to Montreal's Segal Centre for the Performing Arts for a performance of the award-winning play, Indecent by Paula Vogel on May 5, 2019. Indecent recounts the history of the controversial 1906 Yiddish play, Der Got Fun Nekome (The God of Vengeance) by Shalom Asch. Registration is $175. The package includes coach transportation from the Soloway Jewish Community Centre or Downtown, a buffet lunch, a ticket to the matinee performance and post-performance refreshment. Food served will be kosher. For more information visit https://tinyurl.com/y69a6uu6 or contact Fran at 613-726-9330 or fetnac@gmail.com or visit fetnac.org. Registration is April 1.

Community Service Awards - Nominate someone today!Federation has four awards: Gilbert Greenberg Distinguished Service Award, Freiman Family Young Leadership Award, Shem Tov Community Volunteer Award and Student Leadership Award. Deadline for nominations is March 29. New this year - easier online nomination process with ability to upload supporting documentation. More info here: https://jewishottawa.com/volunteering/community-service-awards

Get Involved! Opportunities for Community InvolvementAre you looking to get involved with OrH activities? We are always in need of helping hands with event planning and other activities. All are welcome, including High Schoolers who are looking for community volunteer opportunities. Please contact info@orh.ca or visit the OrH home page (look for the Get Involved! banner).

Donations to OrH

Donations are a significant part of the funding for activities and rabbinic support in our community. You can direct your contribution to different areas of Or Haneshamah’s activity, including: general donations to fund programming, rabbinic leadership, donations in honor or in memory of a person or event, or dedication of ritual objects. We also welcome donations to the Gita (Tova) & Zvi Taub Memorial Fund, the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, the Or Haneshamah Endowment Fund. Federal employees or retirees can also give to OrH through the ​​​​​​​Annual Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign. Information on all these programs and how to give can be found at this link, or by clicking on the "Donate" tab on the main menu of the OrH website.

Potluck ProtocolOur community’s long time practice is to welcome egg, dairy and fish on the potluck table. Please label your meal contributions with all ingredients to help people with food allergies or sensitivities; also advise kitchen staff whether dish is to be served hot or cold.

We Are ListeningHow do you feel things are going in our community? Do you have ideas about programs or events that we should pursue? What aspects of Or Haneshamah do you feel are working well, and what do you think can be improved? In the interest of making OrH the best community that it can be, the board and rabbi invite you to submit comments and feedback at any time. Please send your thoughts to feedback@orh.ca or directly to any member of the board (email addresses below).

Or Haneshamah frequently receives requests to post notices of upcoming events in the community at-large. These events run the range from cultural, educational, and in some cases explorations of topical political issues. In the interest of providing information to our congregation about the diversity of interesting events in the Ottawa community we will post notices of these events in our regular newsletter.

We recognize also that from time to time we are requested to post notices of events which are highly controversial in nature and reflect a wide range of opinions among our congregation on particular issues. We are, however, of the opinion that it is appropriate for us to post events taking place in the community which may challenge us, which may cause discomfort, and which may cause us to reflect on some of our beliefs. Our openness to post notices for a wide range of community events, however, does not mean that we have abdicated our responsibility to show discernment and to distinguish between those events which demonstrate an open-minded and thoughtful approach to specific issues and those which do not appear to reflect such values. So, we will make judgments about what notices we believe are appropriate to post and those which we believe will not contribute to a thoughtful and balanced exploration of ideas and issues.

Will we make mistakes along the way? Probably. But the possibility of errors of judgment does not mean that we can excuse ourselves from the responsibility to show judgment in posting notices about events in the community and we promise to do so with openness tempered by a sense of responsibility.

In agreeing to post any notice of an event in the community, Or Haneshamah does not endorse, support or promote any perspectives, positions or ideas expressed in the events which are posted in our newsletter.

Bar Mitzvah/Shabbat Morning Torah Service Shabbat, Jun 20th 9:45a to 12:15pShaharit service of morning blessings and songs, including Torah service. Please note this Shabbat will be a Bar Mitzvah with host-sponsored Kiddush luncheon to follow. The entire congregation is invited and warmly welcomed.

Bar Mitzvah/Shabbat Morning Torah Service Shabbat, Sep 5th 9:45a to 12:15pShaharit service of morning blessings and songs, including Torah service. Please note this Shabbat will be a Bar Mitzvah with host-sponsored Kiddush luncheon to follow. The entire congregation is invited and warmly welcomed.